Grito de Dolores

History

In the 1810s, what would become Mexico was still New Spain, part of the Spanish crown. Following Napoleon's overthrow of the Spanish Bourbon monarchy in 1808, Spain's American possessions rose in rebellion, refusing to accept Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as king. In New Spain, the criollo leadership attempted to set a course of autonomy in support of the legitimate heir to the throne, Ferdinand VII, but the peninsular elite, fearing the loss of the colony, carried out a coup, also in the name of Ferdinand. Almost immediately, groups of creoles formed various plots around the viceroyalty, including in Querétaro, of which Father Hidalgo became a part. When the plot was discovered in early September 1810, some plotters decided to proceed with the uprising. Around 2:30 am on 16 September 1810, Hidalgo ordered the church bells to be rung and gathered his congregation. Flanked by Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama, he addressed the people in front of his church, urging them to revolt. His speech became known as the "Cry of Dolores".

The liberated country adopted Mexico as its official name. Mexico's independence from Spain took a decade of war. Independence was achieved by the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire 11 years and 12 days later, on 28 September 1821. However, Hidalgo is credited as being the "father of his country".

Exact words and meaning

Scholars have not been able to reach a consensus on the exact words Miguel Hidalgo said at the time. Michael Meyer has noted:

The exact words of this most famous of all Mexican speeches are not known, or, rather, they are reproduced in almost as many variations as there are historians to reproduce them.

Meyer also argues that:

In contrast, William F. Cloud divides the sentiments above between Hidalgo and the crowd:

Many believe that Hidalgo's Grito condemned the notion of monarchy and criticized the current social order in detail. However, his opposition targeted Spain and its viceroy in Mexico: that is, not against the monarchy in general but against "bad government". The Grito also emphasized loyalty to the Catholic religion, a sentiment with which both Mexican-born Criollos and Peninsulares (native Spaniards) could sympathize. However, the strong anti-Spanish cry of "Death to Gachupines" (Gachupines being a slur given to Peninsulares) would have shocked Mexico's elites.

File:Balcón_principal_del_Palacio_Nacional.JPG|Close-up of the balcony where the president of Mexico gives the annual 'Grito de Dolores' on Independence Day File:La presidenta encabeza el Grito de Independencia 2025.jpg|President Claudia Sheinbaum leading the ceremony on the main balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City on September 15, 2025. Sheinbaum is the first woman in Mexican history to lead the ceremony. File: Objetos de la época de independencia.png|Image extracted from the 1880 book by Vicente Riva Palacio and Julio Zárate, México a través de los siglos Tomo III: La Guerra de Independencia (1808–1821)

National festivities

The day of 16 September was first celebrated in 1812 in Huichapan, Hidalgo. It was given the status of a national holiday in the Constitution of Apatzingán, ratified by the conventions of 1822 and 1824, and first celebrated nationally in 1825.

Notes

References

References

1. Timothy J. Henderson, ''The Mexican Wars for Independence'' (New York: Hill and Wang, 2009), pp. 49–52, 64–68.
2. Timothy J. Henderson, ''The Mexican Wars for Independence'' (New York: Hill and Wang, 2009), pp. 70–71. {{ISBN?
3. Virginia Guedea, "Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'', Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, p. 640.
4. Meyer, Michael, et al. (1979). ''The Course of Mexican History''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 276. {{ISBN. 978-0-19-502413-5.
5. William F. Cloud. (1896). "Church and State or Mexican Politics from Cortez to Diaz". Peck & Clark, Printers.
6. Kirkwood, Burton (2000). ''History of Mexico''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. {{ISBN. 978-0-313-30351-7.
7. (2010-09-16). "En Huichapan, Hidalgo, se dio el primer "Grito de Independencia" hace casi 200 años". [[La Jornada]].
8. Emmanuel Carballo. (September 2009). "El grito de Dolores de 1812 a 1968". University of México.